The Gates Foundation has commissioned an external investigation of its past engagement with Jeffrey Epstein, CEO Mark Suzman told staff in a memo this week, as billionaire and foundation co-founder Bill Gates prepares to testify before Congress in June about his relationship with the late sex offender.
The memo was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. In a statement the Foundation gave the Journal, they said the review was launched in March with help from Gates and the foundation’s independent board members and is expected to deliver an update this summer. It will also examine the foundation’s policies for vetting new philanthropic partnerships, according to the memo. A recent board meeting in London included a session on the impact of the Justice Department’s Epstein files on the foundation, Suzman wrote in the memo.
The review follows Fortune’s March investigation into how Epstein spent nearly a decade embedding himself in Gates’ inner circle. A spokesman for Gates told Fortune in March that Gates “regrets meeting with Epstein” and that he “never witnessed or engaged in any illicit or illegal behavior.” The Gates Foundation did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment for this story.
Based on documents from the more than 3 million pages of DOJ files, Fortune’s reporting found Epstein spent a decade building a network of intermediaries to get closer to Gates. The network included Gates’ “right hand” and chief science advisor Boris Nikolic; a former Gates Foundation senior adviser named Melanie Walker; and Mila Antonova, who was reportedly Gates’ former mistress. Epstein went so far as to help Antonova, a Russian citizen, secure a visa, put her up in his New York apartments, fund her coding classes, and send her wire transfers. Epstein then used these favors to try to pressure Gates, Fortune found—writing to Gates’ deputy Larry Cohen in April 2018 that he had put Antonova up in his New York apartment and that Gates was “playing with fire.”
Antonova’s attorney told Fortune in March that she had no knowledge of Epstein’s efforts to pressure Gates and that she “naively accepted” his help believing he genuinely wanted her to succeed.
Nikolic told Fortune in March that “Epstein inserted himself as a mediator” into Nikolic’s separation from Gates’ venture fund, “and then used lies to pursue his own agenda.” He added that he realized this after the fact and continued on without Epstein’s involvement in his work. DOJ documents show Boris and Epstein communicated as late as 2019. Walker, who like Nikolic has not been charged with wrongdoing, declined to comment on Fortune’s March story through her lawyers.
Epstein’s goal, the DOJ documents showed, was for Gates to participate in a donor-advised fund Epstein had pitched him on since at least 2011, through which Gates would help manage the wealth of newly-minted billionaires. After the project stalled in 2014, Epstein heightened his communication with Gates and his deputies, seemingly trying to pressure the billionaire into supporting the fund and compensating him for funding Antonova’s schooling and housing.
Gates has characterized the relationship as a “mistake” focused on philanthropy and has not been charged with wrongdoing. At a foundation town hall earlier this year, he apologized for having affairs with two Russian women and said he regretted his time with Epstein.
Cutbacks at the Gates Foundation
Suzman’s memo to foundation staffers this week also detailed a long-planned restructuring that will cut roughly 500 jobs, or 20% of the foundation’s staff, by 2030, a goal that was announced in January. The first 200 positions will be eliminated by the end of 2027.
Suzman told staff that a recent board meeting in London included a session on the impact of the DOJ files on the foundation’s work and reputation.
“This is a challenging time for our organization in many ways, but it also highlights the critical importance of taking the tough actions now,” he wrote in the recent memo.
Some of the foundation’s most important relationships have taken significant hits in the wake of revelations about Gates’ relationship with Epstein. Melinda French Gates left the board following her 2021 divorce from Bill Gates, and has said Bill’s continued contact with Epstein played a role in their separation. Warren Buffett, who gave roughly $43 billion to the foundation between 2006 and 2024, told CNBC recently that he has not spoken to Gates since the Epstein disclosures came to light and suggested he may not make further donations. His annual gifts are typically announced in June—the same month Gates is set to appear before Congress.
“I don’t want to be in a position where I know things … to be called as a witness,” Buffett told CNBC in March.
